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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23532688">Taking it Slow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatPeskyAloe/pseuds/ThatPeskyAloe'>ThatPeskyAloe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Borderlands (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alien Biology, Aliens, Bad Jokes, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Just fluff for the sake of fluff, Neck Kissing, Other, Sleepy Cuddles, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:47:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,439</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23532688</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatPeskyAloe/pseuds/ThatPeskyAloe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, assassins like to take it easy and have a nice, relaxing morning.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zane Flynt/Zer0 (Borderlands)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Taking it Slow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was nice to have a slow morning like this every once in a while, when there wasn't a million things to be done and they needed a little time to recover from all the action. Sun filtering in through the blinds, a comfy bed, and a warm body atop Zane's all tangled with his own. And it was bliss, sheer bliss in every moment. </p>
<p>He'd been awake for some time now, unwilling to move lest he wake up the lanky alien draped over the top of him. A good bit of time had been spent attempting to get back to sleep again, some more spent just watching them as they slept in quiet contentment. But Zane, being the man of action he was, eventually tired of that no matter how sweet Zer0 looked in their rare slumber and had taken to scrolling on his Echo device with one hand and putting the other arm around Zer0s back, gently hooked around their lithe waist in a way that let him feel the tiny movement of their slow breathing. </p>
<p>Their breathing was different from a human being in a few main ways. It seemed that they could just stop if needed which was a fairly glaring difference- Zane had been explained to that they had air reserves in their bodysuit that put oxygen directly into the blood, which meant they didn't need to breathe while wearing it. He thought that was pretty weird... But useful, for a stealty assassin type. Not having to breathe on tough missions was enviable... He himself got out of breath and tired quicker than he would like to admit. Must be his age catching up to him. A more subtle difference, one that he liked but didn't so much envy, was that when they weren't wearing the suit the breaths they took in and out were much longer and slower than a humans. And, when they were totally relaxed like this, each slow breath out make a noise very much like a soft purr.</p>
<p>It was remarkable that Zer0 hadn't woken up already to be honest- they always seemed to know when someone was looking at them, yet hadn't stirred while Zane idly watched them between bouts of scrolling. It made his heart squeeze a little at the possibility that it may be a trust thing- but it was more likely that it was just the fact that they were very, very tired. They didn't sleep often as they didn't need to so much, but when they did it was for quite a while. He began to wonder just how long he would be trapped under them. </p>
<p>As it turned out, quite a while. He'd found himself a ridiculous number of articles and several quizzes deep in a amusing clickbait site before Zer0 even began to stir, making a sleepy noise and curling up just a little as if trying to press closer. He put his Echo device to the side and tried to pretend that didn't just melt his heart as he put both arms around them, one hand rubbing their back soothingly. This earned another soft noise and Zer0 looked up at him, chin on his chest with a ( -﹏- ) popping up on their helmet for a few moments. </p>
<p>"Mornin'." Zane mumbled, giving them a soft squeeze as they stretched for a moment, back arched, then got comfortable again atop him. "You're normally awake afore me."</p>
<p>Zer0 made a sound that Zane could only assume was a yawn- it was hard to tell- and laid their head down on his chest again. </p>
<p>"Well, that is the truth./ But I am not normally/ so very tired." </p>
<p>It had been obvious that they were exhausted. They had peeled off their suit, redressed in the big shirt and shorts they were wearing right now and all but collapsed into bed after that last mission. Zane had fallen asleep next to them a bit later once he had showered- they must have left the bed for a moment and fallen back asleep on top of him. Probably because he was so warm and comfy. </p>
<p>"Any less tired now then, sweetheart?" He asked. </p>
<p>"Mm..." They hummed thoughtfully. "I'm far less tired./ But truth be told, I'd rather/ stay in bed, with you."</p>
<p>Zane chuckled softly, running a splayed out hand down their back. Their frame was so skinny, compared to his own... Yet it fit against his pretty much perfectly. Slotted together like puzzle pieces, Zer0 soaking up all the warmth from the bed and Zane- their body temperature was warm, but not quite as warm as a human. They liked to sleep close to him, warm and comfortable. </p>
<p>"Baby, that's sweet 'n all... But I kinda need to pee." </p>
<p>Zer0 grumbled and snuggled in closer for a second, but relented when nudged gently in the ribs and rolled to the side to let Zane sit up, head tilting curiously as Zane cracked his back loudly. Zane looked in their direction and caught them looking dubiously along the line of his spine. </p>
<p>"Jus' me old bones, pet. Nothin' to worry about."</p>
<p>"Rice crispie." They said simply, in a matter of fact way. </p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"You're a rice crispie./ You snap, crackle, and you pop./ Like the cereal."</p>
<p>It only took a moment for Zane to process the joke and promptly double over laughing, wheezing with laughter as Zer0 sat with a pleased :D on their face. They didn't often make jokes- doing so in haiku was fairly hard. Zane stood back up straight, wiping a tear from his eye and chuckling as he turned to go to the bathroom.</p>
<p>"Makin' me laugh that hard <em>right</em> after I said I hadta pee- jeez, you're mean!"</p>
<p>They let the :D dissapear, replaced with a content &lt;(￣︶￣)&gt; as they sat back on their heels, stretching their arms above their head and leaning back until the fell backward onto the mattress. They liked the beds at Atlas; they were large and comfortable, which was all they really needed. This one happened to currently have quite a nice, large sunbeam streaming across it between the blinds that warmed a strip across their abdomen. They could still hear Zane chuckling in the bathroom. </p>
<p>When Zane returned, Zer0 had nearly dozed off again- but sat up sleepily anyway and looked over at the operative, who grinned at them. He didn't see them without the suit very often, even as close to them as he was, so he liked taking in the sight when he could. All lithe alien limbs with purplish grey skin, with a captivating green iridescence on areas like their joints. The shirt they were wearing belonged to him and hung loosely over their skinny frame. </p>
<p>He knelt on the edge of the bed, leaning down to kiss Zer0s neck in the absence of a mouth- the mask stayed on. It had to, given that it was grafted on. It didn't phase Zane, though. In fact, he'd found that the traces of scarring where it met their neck were an excellent little spot for kisses. They let out a pleased sigh and returned the gesture the only way they could, nuzzling into his shoulder and pressing the cool material of their mask against his neck. </p>
<p>"A little more awake now, sunshine?" He asked, straightening up. Zer0 flashed a (ー_ー). "I'll take that as a no- woah!"</p>
<p>With that assassin's speed that he hadn't been expecting from such a soft situation, Zer0 had reached up and pulled Zane down with them as they lay down, soon getting comfortable on him again while he got his bearings. He'd trapped him in bed again, it seemed. </p>
<p>"Let's stay here a while./ I don't want to go do things./ This is much better." </p>
<p>"Noo!"</p>
<p>Zane made an exaggerated escape attempt, but still very willingly allowed himself to be stopped. He chuckled and put an arm around Zer0 as they got comfortable, no doubt in the best position to steal his body heat as they settled down to nap for a while longer to properly get their energy back- just one night wouldn't cut it, they'd be sleeping until midday at least. As for Zane, he leaned over to retrieve his Echo device again, already well rested and ready to have a look for anything interesting on the Echonet, maybe another job to get under his belt. Not that there was any particular rush to do so. After all, it wasn't like he was going anywhere anytime soon. He looked down, at the assassin already very comfortable atop him, breathing already evening out. </p>
<p>He decided he was okay with that. </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I always like to make Zer0 a little less of a hardened badass behind closed doors lmao</p></blockquote></div></div>
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